The Oil and Dressing of Your Candle

You'll need oil to anoint the candle. This is called "dressing" the candle and it's a very crucial part of every candle spell: you're "addressing" it so its message is delivered accurately. Sure, you can buy perfumed candles that are already scented: please, save them for relaxing in the tub. You can even buy candles that are already dressed, but since the point is to personalize the candle exclusively to you, what good does it do to have the candle dressed by someone else? Dressing your own candle assures that you are attuning that candle to your intentions, personalizing it, enlisting it as your ally.

What kind of oil? Ah, more decisions! Many metaphysical shops and botanicals (the wonderful herb shops located in Spanish speaking neighborhoods throughout the country) sell oils suitable for candle dressing. Some are attuned (through the herbs they contain) to certain colors, some have colorful descriptive names like "Come To Me" and "Fast Luck." Select these oils based on color and/or purpose, and pick a scent you find pleasing. A small vial will suffice for starters: you can gradually collect a variety of oils for different candle occasions.

You can also make your own oils, using specific herbs, essential or perfume oils and small amounts of any mild-scented vegetable oil, such as grapeseed or almond. (See Oil Recipes)

How to apply your oil to your candle is determined by your intention:

Inviting Stroke: When your aim is to call something to you and bring it into your life, apply the oil first around the top of the candle (in a clockwise motion, looking down at the wick), the bottom (again, clockwise, with the candle upside down), and then center (that is, around the candle's "waist", clockwise as you hold the candle upright). Then rub more oil from the top in toward the candle's center and from the bottom up to the candle's center. As you do this, hold a clear mental image of drawing good things to you, pulling them in toward your own heart-center.Banishing Stroke: When your intention is to move stuff out of your life, reverse this process: apply oil in a counter-clockwise motion to top, bottom, and center, then rub out and away from the candle's center, keeping a clear picture of things departing as you do so.

For Novenas (tall candles in glass): These burn for days and many people feel safer about leaving them unattended (still in a bathtub or sink, please). Obviously you must dress them in a different manner.

To write directly on the candle, reach down with your tool and scratch the words into the wax around the wick.

Then, apply your oil around the wick and on the glass around the bottom only, working clockwise to draw to you, counter-clockwise to send away. With novena candles, petitions can be fastened directly around the glass jar itself, so the light of the candle's flame will shine through the paper as the candle burns.

While a number of books suggest always applying oil from the center out (what I consider the banishing stroke), I learned the inviting/banishing methods that I use many years ago and they've always felt right to me. Does that mean the books are wrong, I'm wrong, or that it really doesn't matter how it's done? No, it means that what ultimately makes these things "right" is one's own intention. Do what feels right for you and be consistent with your intention.

Fragrance Associations

Monday/Moon/Whites/Emotions

White Rose, White Garden Lily, or GardeniaTuesday/Mars/Reds/Aggression

Pine, Carnation, or HoneysuckleWednesday/Mercury/Yellows/Mental

Lily of the Valley, Lavender, or BayberryThursday/Jupiter/Purples/Expansion

Magnolia, Sandalwood, or Sage

Friday/Venus/Greens/Love

Primrose, Thyme, or LilacSaturday/Saturn/Blacks/Endings

Water Violets, Black Orchid, or HyacinthSunday/Sun/Oranges//Creating

Rosemary, Rue, or ClovesFragrances Ruled By The Moon

Balm

Coconut

Eucalyptus

Gardenia

Jasmine

Lily

Lotus

Myrrh

Poppy

Sandalwood

Water Lily

Wintergreen

Fragrances Ruled By MarsAll Spice

Carnation

Dragon's Blood

Ginger

High John the Conqueror

Honeysuckle

Hot Peppers

Peppermint

Pine

Snapdragon

Fragrances Ruled By MercuryAzalea

Bayberry

Clover

Fern

Lavender

Lemon Grass

Lily of the Valley

Mandrake

Mint

Hemp

Tobacco

Fragrances Ruled By JupiterAnise

Datura

Lime

Magnolia

Maple

Meadowsweet

Nutmeg

Oak

Sage

Sandalwood

Fragrances Ruled By VenusAdam and Eve

African Violet

Cherry

Lilac

Primrose

Spearmint

Strawberry

Thyme

Vanilla

Fragrances Ruled By SaturnBlack Orchid

Hyacinth

Iris

Morning Glory

Opium Poppy

Pansy

Patchouli

Peyote

Solomon's Seal

Water Violets

Fragrances Ruled By The SunCedar

Cloves

Chrysanthemum

Cinnamon

Frankincense

Juniper

Marigold

Rosemary

Rowan

Rue